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Newsweek Poll: Bush Most Unpopular President In Generation, Hurts GOPers (UPDATED)

May 5th, 2007
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

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Newsweek has a new poll and the magazine’s writer Marcus Mabry concludes that (1) Bush is the most unpopular President in a generation and (2) he is proving to be political poison to Republican 2008 Presidential candidate wannabes:

It’s hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation, or that he seems to be dragging every ’08 Republican presidential candidate down with him. But according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll, the public’s approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent, an all-time low for this president in our poll, and a point lower than Gallup recorded for his father at Bush Sr.’s nadir. The last president to be this unpopular was Jimmy Carter who also scored a 28 percent approval in 1979. This remarkably low rating seems to be casting a dark shadow over the GOP’s chances for victory in ’08. The NEWSWEEK Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head match ups.

This poll is bad news for Republicans (GWB is now a political albatross but can’t be shed since their loyalties and fates are tied to his), guardedly good news for Democrats (being the anti-Bush won’t be enough and there are already news stories about the Democrats’ agenda stalling in Congress) and decidedly awful news for Jeb Bush (whenever he decides to run, he’ll run on a damaged brand name — but he can’t change his name).

But it gets worse for Bush — and his party — in the long run:

When the NEWSWEEK Poll asked more than 1,000 adults on Wednesday and Thursday night (before and during the GOP debate) which president showed the greatest political courage—meaning being brave enough to make the right decisions for the country, even if it jeopardized his popularity —more respondents volunteered Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton (18 percent each) than any other president. Fourteen percent of adults named John F. Kennedy and 10 percent said Abraham Lincoln. Only four percent mentioned George W. Bush. (Then again, only five percent volunteered Franklin Roosevelt and only three percent said George Washington.)

A majority of Americans believe Bush is not politically courageous: 55 percent vs. 40 percent. And nearly two out of three Americans (62 percent) believe his recent actions in Iraq show he is “stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes,” compared to 30 percent who say Bush’s actions demonstrate that he is “willing to take political risks to do what’s right.”

This means the suggestions Bush and other Republican partisans make to Bush being another Harry Truman, a man sticking by his principles, willing to risk personal popularity, are not being accepted by many Americans. Rather, they see someone who is “stubborn” and won’t “admit mistakes” — another way of saying someone who lets personal ego get into the way of stand-back policy consideration, formulation and implementation…troubling in someone who must deal in policies which involve lives.

RELATED READING: William F. Buckley.

UPDATE: Again showing how polls can widely vary, Rusmussen Reports doesn’t find the figures as low — but does find that GWB is hurting his party. But Democrats should not be joyous: apparently the Democrats’ performance in Congress has led to some Democratic defections as well:

Forty percent (40%) of American adults Approve of the way that George W. Bush is performing his duties as President. Fifty-eight percent (58%) Disapprove of his performance. These figures include 17% who Strongly Approve and 43% who Strongly Disapprove (see comments on comparing Approval Ratings from different polling firms). The President earns approval from 78% of Republicans but only 13% of Democrats. Among those unaffiliated with the two major parties, 34% approve.

In addition to low Job Approval ratings, the President’s performance is leading to a significant decline in the number of Americans who identify themselves as Republicans. While the number of Republicans nationwide sank to a new low in April, the number of Democrats has also declined a bit since their party took control of Congress. As a result, there are more unaffiliated voters today than Republicans.



This entry was posted on Saturday, May 5th, 2007 at 9:06 am and is filed under George W. Bush, Republicans, Jeb Bush, William F. Buckley, Iraq, War, 2008 Elections, Congress, Polls, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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